The FPF and RFEF jointly announced their intentions to bid for the tournament during a goalless friendly match between the two countries' national teams on 7 October 2020. RFEF president Rubiales and FPF president Gomes were joined by
Ukrainian Association of Football (UAF) president
Andriy Pavelko, announcing that Ukraine would join the bid, despite the
Russian invasion of the country. On 29 November,
The Guardian reported that the Ukrainian part of the bid was "likely dead" after Pavelko was arrested on suspiscion of embezzelment. Independently of the Spain–Portugal bid, the
Royal Moroccan Football Federation announced in mid-2018 that it would seek to host the tournament. It was Morocco's sixth bid to host the FIFA World Cup, after unsuccessful attempts in
1994,
1998,
2006,
2010 and
2026. On 14 March 2023, King
Mohammed VI of Morocco announced that the country would instead join the Spain–Portugal bid as a co-host. Although the Royal Spanish Football Federation did not immediately confirm the addition, the prime ministers of Spain and Portugal both welcomed Morocco's decision to join the bid. On 1 April 2023, the
Kyiv Post reported that Spain and Portugal ultimately decided against going with Ukraine for the bid, "presumably" to avoid bringing attention to "Ukrainian corruption". On 27 September 2023, Morocco was selected as the host of the
2025 Africa Cup of Nations. On 4 October 2023, the FIFA Council unanimously approved Spain, Portugal and Morocco as the sole bids for the tournament. ==Major sports events hosting experiences==